Eternal Beasts

Chapter 22: A Return in Necessity

The war leader, a grim-looking woman with a long blonde braid and a scar running diagonally across her handsome face and clad in steel breastplate, pauldrons and vambraces over chain mail, was working her way through a series of situation reports on top of her camp desk when there came a scratch at the door of her tent.

"This better be good, captain," she called out in a hard, no-nonsense alto without looking up. "Command wants us pegs up and portaling to the muster point in less than an hour."

"Yes, ma'am," a voice said from outside her command officer's tent, the voice belonging to the captain of her personal guard. "Shatterstone and her patrol have returned with a rather large nysim that claims he's the Lord of Griffons. He has requested an audience."

The war leader frowned as she looked up from the reports to stare at the door. The Lord of Griffons?? There was no Lord of Griffons! The griffon flights were wiped out in the Second War of Balance!

She sighed then stood, drawing her sword.

"Let him in," the war leader curtly ordered.

"Ma'am." And, with a surge of motion, the biggest nysim she had ever seen, stepped through the door flap to come to a halt a couple strides from her desk. Dressed in ridiculously well made huntsman's clothing, the man was a painfully handsome giant who seemed to seethe with power and menace as he towered over her.

"Alright, friend," she said with a frown, lifting up her sword to let it rest on top of her desk. "I'm granting this audience only because the Blessed Mother has revealed herself in accordance with the Ninth Codex and she can't be the Blessed Mother without her husband, the Lord of Griffons."

She made a show of slowly looking the frowning man over, silently noting the broad shoulders, thick, muscular arms and tree trunk legs did nothing to detract from his godlike good looks. Any other day or situation, she would be approaching him with two drinks in hand. Today, however ...

"Which is you, according to your claim. Despite the fact that you don't actually have a griffon with you."

Jared sighed. Yet more attitude, this time from a denai woman in armor, the softened points of her ears, rounder eyes and thicker eyebrows marking her as such. What is with these people?? And what's with the sword on the desk? Did she really think she could stick him with it before he took her out?

Sighing again, he pushed aside those thoughts. Because they certainly weren't helping the situation any.

"I have a griffon, commander," he said. "But she was captured by a leviathan in the channel between the mainland and Isla Mobius while we were flying a mission to the island." He folded his arms. "Which is why I'm here. I need a portal to the Muul kerKerath."

"Not going to happen," the woman instantly replied. "Even if I believed that hogslop of a story. My wizards are busy gating my regiment to a muster point just west of Findias."

"So, the Denai know the Third War of Balance has been declared?" Jared said with a frown.

"Thanks to the Blessed Mother," the war leader indicated, her brow lifting at the question. "She brought word to one of my fellow commanders to the north a few hours ago. We now rally to the last City of Stone." Abruptly the denai woman grimaced. "Something I never thought would happen, to be perfectly honest!" she muttered with a shake of her head.

Jared pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"Let me guess: the Denai and the Tuatha Fáil don't get along."

"A nysim, mageborn or not, shouldn't be privy to that information," the war leader said with a frown, her eyes narrowed as she peered at him. "Where did you hear that?"