Angie Fox - ADS 03 - A Tale of Two Demon Slayers

Amara saw and nodded, leading us straight down. Dimitri and I dove after her. The wind streaked against my face, and my stomach lurched. Whoa Nelly.

Maybe I wasn’t so used to this.

That’s the thing you don’t notice about birds until you actually fly like one. They dip and weave in the sky and look so graceful doing it. When you’re along for the ride, it’s a whole different story.

I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer of thanks that it had been a few hours since we’d eaten dinner.

The pull of the rocks grew stronger. Something was down there. I could see the threat like a dot of light in my mind, along with the overwhelming urge to leap off Dimitri’s back and belly flop straight for it.

“There,” I yelled over the beating of wings, pointing toward a shadowy outcropping of volcanic rock that resembled a claw. It was large, at least five feet across and jagged at the edges. A few scraggly weeds clung to the top before giving way to a precarious drop straight down the sea cliff.

I held my breath and tried not to fidget as Dimitri drew closer. Oh yes. My demon slayer senses clanged in my head. Ever since I’d come into my powers, I was insanely attracted to anything that could chop me in half or send me falling to my death.

This place was perfect.

I wanted to unwind my legs from Dimitri’s back and cling to the black rock cliff. Instead I forced myself to take it slow. I reached out and touched the sharp, pockmarked volcanic rock. Power simmered under my fingertips, and I groaned at the pleasure of it. It felt so good and so wrong at the same time.

I licked my lips. “This is it.” I could feel the danger lurking underneath the stone.

But how would that piece of me—or our enemies—have found a way inside?

I pushed harder. Whatever lurked there wanted to come out. I could feel it. All I had to do was move a mountain.

The rock bit into my skin.

Dimitri nudged his head underneath my hand. “No,” I told him. “Please.” I didn’t know what could happen to me, much less him. If my powers had led us here, I hoped I could handle what we found. Besides, a griffin might be able to survive a fall to the rocks below. I wouldn’t bet on a demon slayer.

Blood trickled down my hand and over my wrist. The stone jiggled and I realized I was only trying to move part of a cliff. The rocks had caved in on something. I focused all my energy on the stone under my hand, willing it to give. It was close. “Almost”—I cringed—“there!”

The rock gave way, plummeting into the ocean below. Inside, a strange piece of marble lay in a tangle of woven straw. The rock itself was pitted, roundish and yellow as an Easter egg.

“Dimitri?” I didn’t want to invite trouble, but something had led us to this artifact.

He nodded his mammoth head as I eased my fingers around the rock. When it didn’t burn, I slipped it, along with most of the grassy covering, into the pocket of my demon slayer utility belt. Perhaps he could tell me more, once he’d shifted back. At any rate, I wasn’t going to risk our find plummeting off the cliff into the ocean.

We continued our sweep of the grounds, flying low along the cliffs and then out over the shallow waters of the ocean. It would have been hard to detect a boat if they didn’t shine their lights, but like I said, we didn’t need our eyes as much as our senses. We circled above the house again, then past the lawn and over dark forest beyond. I could feel tinges of danger. Still, I couldn’t locate the source.

It was everywhere.

You’d think the hardest part of riding a griffin would be launching from zero to three hundred feet in a split second, or holding on during a dive. Nope. It’s actually the first few minutes after dismount, when your legs are jelly and your entire body feels like you just stepped off a roller coaster.

It was in this slightly woozy state that I leaned against the wall in Dimitri’s foyer and eased the yellow stone out of my utility belt. In the light, it looked like a rough piece of marble. I couldn’t even explain what had led us to the collapsed rock face or why I’d felt the need to excavate it.

Dyonne had greeted us at the door. Now she stared at the stone with as much confusion as me.

“It didn’t belong there,” I told her, although that didn’t really explain why I’d decided to keep it.

“It will be trouble for you,” Amara said, the corners of her mouth turning upward.

Oh please. “Will you finish getting dressed?” She still hadn’t zipped up the side of her dress or found her bra.

Dimitri had gone straight to his quarters for a new pair of shorts. If she thought she could hold out until he returned, she was nuts.

“Let’s just get to work in the morning,” said Dyonne, as she ushered us toward the stairs. “I don’t know if it was the imp attack or the fact that the Skye magic is a bit more than we can handle right now, but”—she shook her head—“I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”

I gave her a squeeze on the arm, hoping to reassure her when I didn’t quite have the words. I knew what it was like to have something special inside that you didn’t quite know how to use. She’d get through it, and so would I.

“You know what?” I said, pausing as a thought grabbed me. “I’ll be up in a minute.”

They ascended the staircase while I stopped by the library directly off the main foyer. As nice as it was to fly at nausea-inducing speeds over Dimitri’s home, I intended to learn something about the history of the place as well. Knowledge is power, and besides, I’ve always loved research.

Amber wall sconces bathed the library in warm pools of light. Built-in bookcases crowded the circular room, stretching at least two stories high around arched windows. A family crest and a stone memorial were set into the wall, dedicating this as the library of Nikkos Kallinikos, circa 1789.

The room smelled like old books and plaster. I set to work on the shelves to the right of the door, starting at the lowest shelf and working my way up. Then I moved to the bottom of the next shelf and worked my way up. At first, my wobbly legs protested. Soon, I was too wrapped up in the books to notice.

I found comfort in the systematic search. More than that, I didn’t want to miss anything important. Most of the books on the first set of shelves had to do with the history of the Greek city-states and early Mycenaean culture. Then middle history, modern history, flora and fauna. I used my pointer finger to skim the thick volumes.

While in another life I could have happily spent a month in here, tonight I had a purpose. I found two black leather history books on a low shelf near the center of the room. One focused strictly on the Kallinikos family, the other on the griffin clans themselves. Fifteen more minutes of searching and I had a history of the house, including maps of the estate.

I smiled as I made a quick search of the rest of the books, just to make sure I had the most important volumes. Sure, Nancy Drew might have sleuthed her way into answers about the house and its past. I believed in taking a more direct approach.

It might not be sexy, but I was nothing if not practical. I hefted the thick volumes into the crook of my arm and made my way to the stairs.

Who knew? The next part of my research might be quite stimulating. After all, I fully intended to involve my griffin boyfriend.

I returned to my room to find Pirate running from the door to the dresser and then back again, his nose to the floor. I stacked my research books on the long dresser to the right and clicked open the crystal buckle on my utility belt. “Pirate, what are you—? Hey!” His cold nose brushed my toes.