Inferno Legacy: Loyalty of the Dragon (Book Two)

Prologue

            The sun was setting behind two massive mountains, the light reflecting off their snow-covered peaks and glistening brightly in the fading light. A thick layer of dark gray clouds rested just below the peaks so that the sun’s light could not be seen below. Below the clouds, a white bird battled through the rain fiercely.

            A flash of lightning struck out only a few dozen yards from its wing-tip, the bright light briefly illuminating a shape racing along behind it. The bird let out a shriek of fright just as the thunder boomed loudly before pressing on faster, determined to reach its destination. It looked behind and could faintly see what was following it. Recognizing the shape it relaxed a little.

            Finally, its sharp eyes noticed the dark hole in the side of a nearby mountain, resting just below the clouds. It dove swiftly towards it and landed roughly on a ledge just outside the cave. With four muscular legs it raced inside the cave just as its companion landed. Ten times its size, the beast made the entire cave shake.

            With the lightning flashes, one could just barely notice that it was very dark blue, almost black. It had piercing green eyes that perfectly represented the green world outside the cave, and two small white horns stuck out of its head, curling back to look like the horns of bighorn sheep. A man slipped from its back, landing on the stone several yards below, his face hidden from view by a large helmet. He flew inside swiftly, his mount following behind more slowly.

            Another young man with snow-white hair and purple eyes slipped out from a cavern deeper in the tunnel to greet the first man warmly. Behind him walked the white bird on its four thick legs, a long white tail trailing behind as it walked. The gryphon’s gentle blue eyes focused on the beast and its rider that had followed it into the cave, its expression and posture calm and welcoming. It easily recognized the dragon that it had known since birth and dipped its head in greeting.

            The man beside the gryphon bowed to the dragon rider happily before saying, “Well hello! It is so good to see you after so long. What brings you to us? My daughters have missed you and your dragon greatly.” The gryphon looked up at her father excitedly as he spoke.

            The man bowed stiffly in return, replying, “Thank you Cedric, Severity and I have missed them as well. We were hoping to seek shelter for the night before we go to Semiones.”

            “What will you be doing there?” the gryphon’s father asked curiously. “Come, you can tell me in the privacy of my quarters.”

            “That would be nice,” the newcomer said in a neutral tone.

            “Can I come too, Father?” the gryphon asked using her thoughts.

            Cedric answered, “No, you’ve helped enough by leading them here. If you want you can wait outside the door for when we come out.”

            “But I wanted to talk to Severity! You know we can’t use thought-speak through your door!” the gryphon complained.

            “You will wait outside the door,” her father ordered sternly. “If you behave, perhaps you can speak with Severity after.”

            The gryphon lowered her head disappointedly as she followed the arrivals and her father. She noticed her older sister, Blissful, standing at the entrance of another cave with some of the older children in the clan, watching the dragon and rider with awe. All of them were on two legs and stayed where they were to gaze at the sight.

            The gryphon stopped in front of the entrance of another tunnel just before her father gently closed the door to it. She let out a sigh and curled into a round bundle, her thick, furry tiger-like tail resting on her golden beak. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the storm outside, feeling a bit more relaxed. Then she heard the faint sound of bare feet padding on the stone floor. Looking up she saw her sister walking towards her.

            “Who was that?” Blissful asked curiously.

            The gryphon glared at the door before answering, “Couldn’t you tell? It was Severity and her rider." 

            “What are they talking about in there?”

            Just as her sister finished asking, they heard their father shout loudly, “What are you talking about!?”

            The gryphon heard a loud thump and scrambled to her feet. Before she could react, Blissful let out a low growl and fur sprouted from her skin through her shirt. Her mouth lengthened into a muzzle, and a thick white tail with black spots grew out behind her. The leopard leaped at the door and it broke open.

            With horror the gryphon watched as Severity struck her father on the side of the head roughly, killing him instantly. The dragon and her rider fled out the door, but Blissful was hot on their tails. She leaped onto Severity’s back and dug her claws into her rough skin, making the dragon scream thunderously. The gryphon just stood still in her terror.

            Hearing the noise, all sorts of animals and people raced out of the tunnels and, seeing their princess fighting the dragon, jumped in to join the fight. The rider attacked a black bear with his massive axe and killed it just as the others drew away from the attack on the dragon. Severity, the gryphon’s life-long friend, lay dead at her feet with blood oozing from between her scales. Her mouth was slightly agape in a vicious, unfinished snarl, her eyes glazed over in death.

           The rider looked at them all. His tone was cold and laced with venom as he announced, “You will all pay dearly for her death! One day I will return, and I will have each one of you beaten slowly to death or left to starve, whatever’s worse!”

            The gryphon thought he was going to attack, but instead he turned around and raced to the edge of the cave and jumped off the ledge. A moment later she say the man, clinging tightly to the bones of a long-dead bird three times her size, somehow managing to stay in the air. One thought went through her head. I led them here.

            “You led them here!” Blissful echoed her thoughts in a hiss as she shifted into a human again. “You brought them so that they could kill our father!”

            “It was an accident, I never knew they would attack,” the gryphon answered in thought-speak, her whole body trembling in fear.

            Her sister’s tone was calm and cold as she announced, “Traitor. You will never be welcome in this territory again. If I see you again, mark my words, it will mean your death.”