Erin Hoffman - Sword of Fire and Sea

// Now who's crazy? // Thalnarra said, probably for Vidarian's benefit, and for a second Vidarian was swallowed in the traumatic memory of their fall from the sky. He gave a shake of his head and opened the medical satchel.

Under Thalnarra's guidance, Vidarian gave Altair a dried pod of some vegetable from the satchel that within moments had the gryphon disoriented and relaxed. They maneuvered his broken wing into a proper fold with only the occasional yelp of pain-loudest when they moved the large bone between his wrist and shoulder back into alignment. As painful as it was to have broken that bone, Thalnarra seemed relieved-the more delicate pair of bones at the leading edge of his wing, she said, would have created a much more serious break.

At length they splinted the now-straightened broken bone with a cut sapling, then folded Altair's wing against his body and bound it there with lengths of silk bandage. When they were done, he hadn't yet recovered from the dried pod medicine, so Thalnarra waited with him in the forest while Vidarian returned to the downed craft.

When he came upon the meadow, he found not just one pelican-gryphon waiting there, but a goodly portion of Thalnarra's pride-including Kaltak and Ishrak. The rest of the gryphons were goshawk-type-it was startlingly like seeing a dozen Thalnarras until their minute differences became clear-and so the brothers stuck out with their brown feathers and long feathered legs.

The two young gryphons bounded up to Vidarian as soon as he crossed into the meadow. They clearly had been cleaning themselves up, but the remnants of blood shone red-black on their talons and beaks. Vidarian had seen them with fresh-killed prey before, but never with the heightened blood of battle, their ruffs puffed out, their eyes flashing. He wondered how much of the blood on their talons was human, and decided he'd rather not know.

// Greetings, brother! // Kaltak chirped, his tufted ears flicked forward in happy excitement.

“Good to see you, my friend,” Vidarian said, holding out his hand for Kaltak to press his beak to in greeting. The smooth, curved killing instrument felt familiar now, and Vidarian realized how much his life had changed. His gaze drifted to the other gryphons, shocked again at how very much like Thalnarra they looked-though, if it was possible to be sure at this distance, none of them seemed to have her red eyes. But in form and size they were as similar to her as the brothers were to each other.

They weren't always like that , the Starhunter whispered. Everything has come so far apart. Separated. Boxes, little boxes… She started humming an extremely annoying tune, and Vidarian tried to block her out.

// Ishrak has had his first battle! // Kaltak said, and the younger brother dipped his head in acknowledgment. // We aren't Thalnarra's pride, but she allowed us to join them for Ishrak's sake, and on account of us knowing you. // The young gryphon was practically garrulous, his energy clearly excited by the action they'd seen.

“Congratulations,” Vidarian told Ishrak, not sure what else to say.

The smaller brother's cheek-feathers puffed out in shy pleasure. // We should return to our duties , // he said. // They're clearing the field and setting up a camp. // Kaltak looked disappointed but couldn't argue, and the brothers turned back to their tasks.

It was no mean thing, it turned out, to support an entire pride of gryphons, even for a largely under-hunted wild area that had known no gryphons for some time, perhaps even centuries. To Vidarian's horror, they proceeded to eat the slain horses, though mercifully not within sight of the camp. The riders they buried, those that they could find-after a quick calculation Vidarian was quite sure that more still lay fallen. He wasn't much for prayer, but considering that she'd been instrumental in saving his life, he said a brief blessing for the knights to their air goddess, Siane.

Much good she did them , the Starhunter chuckled.

As if you're doing better , he thought viciously at her, even as he berated himself for letting her get to him.

That's hardly my fault , she said, and the hurt in her voice seemed oddly genuine, if-as all things seemed to be with her-fleeting. They locked me back here. How am I supposed to do anyone any good? I can hardly think with these irksome bird-people everywhere .

Though she'd been given to exaggeration, such a specific fabrication tugged at his mind as unlikely. There are gryphons back there? But surely Thalnarra would not oppose the gate opening if she knew there were gryphons trapped…

Not gryphons! she snapped. Then I might have had some conversation. Just…well, look!

She seized his mind, and Vidarian abruptly found himself somewhere else.

It was dark, and the darkness receded into infinity, a shadow that came from nowhere. Surrounding them, just out of reach, were glimmering presences, fascinating little lights. He found himself reaching toward them, stretching himself, expanding.

No, no , a voice said crossly. This!

And there they were, thousands of them, millions! Uncountable faces, bodies, almost human-but covered with feathers.

See! Bird-people! What are you calling them now …

Their faces were haunted, tortured. Some of them seemed to see him, others did not. A collective murmur rose up from them, and when those nearest caught sight of him, the murmur increased into a roar.

Oh, great , the Starhunter sighed. You'd better go back .

And then he was back, the sounds of the meadow sudden in his ears, the smell of the earth, the warmth of the sun on his skin, chased by a moist forest breeze.

Back in his own mind, he also realized what he'd seen, if indeed it was real. Statues of winged humans littered Val Harlon, beaks on their faces where noses and mouths should be, their hair wrought in fanciful plumes that stood up from their foreheads like crests. Could the world have forgotten an entire people?

Thalnarra stepped into the meadow, holding back a branch with her beak so that Altair could gingerly follow. He winced as he stepped into the sunlit meadow, his eyes still wide from the pain medicine.

The world hadn't forgotten, Vidarian realized. Humans had.

He reached out with his Sense as easily as he would have with his hand, but this reached much farther, brushed up against Thalnarra's presence at the meadow's edge. She flared up instinctively, a shield of fire energy lifting around her, ready for attack. Vidarian was already walking toward her, but stopped a stone's throw away.

“Tell me about the bird-people, Thalnarra,” he said. “Tell me what else the gryphons know and have kept from us.”

Her aura dimmed as she took in his question, then dropped entirely, metaphysical arms falling to her sides.

// They made a decision , // she said, and Vidarian already disliked where this was going. // Centuries ago. When the gate was closed, they went in before the Starhunter-all of them. It was the only way to trick her inside. //

“And they're still there.”

// Presumably they would be. Though what would be left… //

“How many, Thalnarra?”

// Two million, we believe , // she said, the words pulled from her.

Sounds about right. Though some of them aren't right in the head , the Starhunter giggled. Maybe they count for halves? In that case it's only one million .

“And they suffer.”

// No one knows that. //

“I can hear them, Thalnarra!”

The gryphoness bridled, undaunted. // Would you undo their sacrifice? All that they gave to win peace in our world? //