Page 43 of The Hidden
Fuck him, and fuck this world.
I grab my bag of food from the floor and open the top of it. I walk into the bathroom and grab my pile of clothes, my eyes landing on my reflection in the mirror. The girl that stares back at me looks hollow, and I turn away, hating that the wordcowardbubbles up in my throat as I stare at myself. I shove my clothes in the bag, cinch it, and then tie it to my front. My wings burst out of my back, easy as breathing, and I’m reminded of the time I saw Ryn call his wings and then put them away just like this. I wanted so badly to do it as well as he did, and here I am.
I have the sudden need to say goodbye to Ami and to Tysa and Moro, but I know they’ll have questions. Questions I just can’t answer. I need to leave before the Syta asshole supreme changes his mind and decides my death is a better palate cleanser for him than my possible capture and torture.
I clear my throat in an effort to disengage the melancholy that’s trying to settle in my chest and roll my shoulders. I pull the map that Nadi gave me out of the waistband of my pants and unfold it as I walk out onto the balcony. Cool spray from the waterfall kisses my cheek, and it feels like the farewell I find myself suddenly hesitant to say. The purple dot reaches out to me like a beacon, but I ignore it and focus in on the mountain range on the opposite side of the map.
Here’s to hoping I can get that gate to open for me and that nothing scary tries to eat me before I can.
And with that, I leap off the balcony and fly out into the night.
21
Istare up at a massive red-purple boulder that feels like it’s laughing at me. That could be the exhaustion talking, but even Pigeon is giving it the side-eye. I lie underneath its shadow and watch the sun wake up and kiss the rock good morning. It took us all night long to touch down in the foothills of the Amaranthine Mountains, and now that we’re here, it’s clear that there was one seriously important detail that I didn’t factor in. The mountain range is huge. It’s way bigger than it looked on the map, and I have no idea where the gate is located amidst the rolling hills and bald peaks. Pigeon seems confident that she’ll recognize where we were flying when we first crossed over when she sees it, but I’m skeptical to say the least.
I sit up on a groan and dig through the backpack for the waterskin I stole. I take a deep pull and let Pigeon know we need to keep an eye out for a water source soon. My hand brushes the turquoise football shaped fruit I have hidden in my bag, and I shove away the thoughts of Zeph that suddenly bombard me. An image of Ryn pops up in my mind, and I release a weary huff.
“I know, Pidge, but what are we supposed to do? Zeph told us to leave, and even if I wanted to say goodbye to Ryn, I have no idea where he is. We’ll just have to cross our fingers that there are some hot eligible gryphon shifters back home,” I tell Pigeon, hoping it will reassure her, but I can feel her pout and longing.
I rub at my chest and hope for my sake that Pigeon can let Zeph and Ryn go. I don’t want to spend my future mourning the loss of guys who probably don’t give two fucks about our absence. An odd chirping sounds off to my left, and I scan the area as I cinch the backpack and haul my tired body to its feet. I don’t sense a threat, but I’m reminded that I’m in a strange land I know nothing about and should probably get back up in the air where it’s safer.
Ebony wings thrust out of my back, and with more effort than it should take, I’m up in the air and looking for the best current to use as Pigeon and I start our search for the gate. Wind fills my wings, and I’m guided along into a leisurely glide as Pigeon and I look for any familiar landmarks. We fly like that for hours until my neck and back are aching, and we’ve both come to the conclusion that scouring these mountains could take weeks, if not months.
Pigeon flashes an image of a stream into my mind, and I look around our surroundings for the water that she’s spotted. “Fuck yes, Pidge,” I cheer and mentally wing five her as I spot the same stream snaking through the rocks and trees. We make our way over to it and trace the water’s path in the air for a while until I spot a clearing in the distance that the stream borders.
“That looks like a decent place to land. Gives us some space to spot anything that might come at us.”I show Pigeon, who fills my chest with warm agreement.
I drop down toward the trees, eager to land, tuck my wings into my back, and hopefully get some rest and refreshment, but just as I get closer to the clearing, I can suddenly make out some kind of makeshift camp that’s tucked into the side and hidden by the trees until you’re practically on top of it like I am.
Motherfucker!
I pull up, panic slamming through me and thankfully shoving away some of my exhaustion. I try to change directions and hope to fuck whoever is down there didn’t just spot me, but a telltale screech sounds off behind me, and with a sinking feeling in my stomach, I know I’ve been spotted.
Pigeon nudges me, and I open up to her and let her take control. We shift mid-wing-flap and then look behind us to gauge what kind of threat we’re dealing with. Five gryphons are now in the air and closing in. Zeph’s final threat to me rings loudly in my ear, and I don’t want to find out if he’d follow through on it. Pigeon angles us for speed and flashes through the sky, looking for a place that offers cover. We need somewhere we can lose them, because with all the flying we’ve been doing, there’s no way we can outmaneuver them for long.
Warning growls and screeches reach out from behind us, making it clear that we’re being hunted. We zip through the sky, but I can feel on the wind that one of our pursuers is gaining on the left. We veer to the right to avoid contact for as long as possible. The evasive maneuver seems to work, and Pigeon and I maintain our lead and continue to search for something that helps us get these fuckers off our tail. We round a mountain, and the bright flash of sun on water beams up at us. It’s momentarily blinding and keeps us from seeing the webbed mass that comes shooting up into the sky until it’s almost on us.
Pigeon shrieks and barely avoids the net, and I realize too late that we weren’t outmaneuvering the gryphons chasing us, we were letting ourselves be herded by them.Fuck!Another net comes screaming up into the sky, and by some miracle, Pigeon does this crazy tuck roll thing that keeps us out of its clutches. But as we recover from the epic dodge we just executed, a third net comes speeding for us, and this one hits its mark.
The net slams into us and wraps around us like a snake does its prey. Pigeon can’t extend her wings to catch the current, and we start to fall out of the sky, careening toward the water. We’re spinning as we fall, and the torque of it leaves me completely disoriented. One second I’m staring at the sky, the next I can spot the water we’re about to crash into any minute now. We’re rolling with such force that it steals all ability to make any sounds, and we can’t even scream as the water’s surface looms even closer, bringing with it promises of pain.
Pigeon and I crash into the water, and it hurts almost as much as when Zeph the sky shadow smashed us into the ground. The heavy net surrounding us immediately pulls us further down, and I feel the terror and panic that surge through Pigeon as we’re dragged against our will toward the bottom. I yank on the tether that connects us, demanding Pigeon’s attention, and try to pull her back into me. The squares of the net that’s doing its best to drown us look big enough for me to try and fit through, but I have to get Pigeon to relinquish control so we can shift and I can try to get out.
I slam against her a couple times, and it finally gets her attention. She quickly hands me the reins, and we shift back into me. I work to untangle the dense net from around me, and I lose the bag that was strapped to my chest. The map flashes in my mind as the bag sinks out of reach, but losing the map will be the least of our problems if I can’t get us out of the net. I’m just small enough to wiggle my way out through the mesh of the dense rope. I kick frantically for the surface of the water, my lungs burning and my head starting to swim with black spots.
I barely break out of the water before I gasp, breathing in air and water at the same time. I cough violently trying to purge my lungs of the lake I just aspirated. Strong arms pluck me from the rippling depths, but there’s nothing I can do to free myself from my captor as I work to clear my lungs of water and fill them with air instead. I’m flown to the bank of the lake, and I continue to cough and try to take in my surroundings. I can tell by how Pigeon has receded inside of me that she’s hurt, and I know that saving our ass is just up to me now.
I’m set gently on the sand of the shore, and I immediately reach back with my left hand and grab the junk of whoever is holding me. As expected, he drops his hold and reaches down to protect himself. This gives me the perfect opportunity to whirl around and punch him in the throat with my other hand. I’m up and sprinting away as he collapses in on himself, and I send up a silent thank you to Sutton and his training.
A massive gryphon slams down into the sand in front of me, and I shriek in surprise. I try to change directions, but another gryphon cuts me off. I stop and spin, looking for a way out, but I’m cut off by gryphons at every angle. A couple of them shift out of their gryphon form, and I take that moment to charge the smallest gryphon of the group. He snaps at me, which is exactly what I hoped for. I dodge his hooked beak, just barely, and land a punch to the side of his head.
I scream through clenched teeth as fire shoots up my hand into my arm. I feel like I just punched a fucking boulder. I lose the momentum of the attack as pain vibrates up my arm, and before the gryphon I assaulted can move to tear me apart, someone is pulling me away from him.
My arm is throbbing, but I unleash all of the fight left in me as I try to get out of the grasp of whoever is holding on to me.
“Caught a live one, didn’t we now,” an amused voice announces. Chuckles sound off around me, and I struggle even harder to break free.
“Go tell the commander we caught something interesting,” the same guy orders, and the gryphon to my right pumps its wings and flies away.
